Monday, September 25, 2006

Uwe Boll has been called the world's worst film director by his critics. And there are a lot of them. Recently, he had enough of those who are highly critical of his movies so he decided to take them on - in a boxing ring! From Time.com:

Mention German-born filmmaker Uwe Boll’s name in certain circles—especially those of the Internet geek variety — and you’re sure to be pummeled by an onslaught of negative adjectives and metaphors. Indeed, Boll is no stranger to criticism: when his film Alone in the Dark—based on the video game of the same name—came out in 2005, critics called it "overblown, amateurish gibberish," and used it as proof that Boll "belongs in the pantheon of inept directors." His follow-up film BloodRayne, another video game adaptation, was equally panned, and left critics declaring that he was "fast becoming one of the worst directors on the planet." Just this week in fact, TIME’s book critic wrote a pained reflection about a detractor who had dubbed him "the Uwe Boll of the book reviewing world."

So what does the world’s worst director do when he gets tired of such revilement? "What any successful filmmaker would do," his press release boasts: challenge his enemies to a boxing match. And so Boll, 41, a former amateur boxer with 10 years experience, has done just that. This weekend, on the set of his newest film Postal—you guessed it, another adaptation of a violent video game, set to open in 2007—he will enter a boxing ring with four Internet film critics, one after another, for a three-round slugfest that he hopes will teach critics a lesson about who they’re slamming. For their trouble, and their bruises, they’ll receive free airfare and hotel accommodations in Vancouver, and roles as extras in the film.

He may have been a lousy film director but he sure is good when it comes to boxing. From BBC:

Director Uwe Boll took on four of his critics in a boxing match, after he became annoyed at the barrage of abuse he received from them...

But it was the director, now dubbed "Raging Boll", who emerged victorious from a boxing ring in Vancouver, watched by a crowd of 600 people.

Critic Jeff Sneider of Ain't It Cool News did fight back, but not in the ring.

He said Mr Boll had told him the match would be a publicity stunt.

"I think he's a jerk," said Mr Sneider after the fight. "This might be PR, but I don't want to keep getting punched in the head."

Another critic said he did manage to punch Mr Boll in the face a couple of times, calling it revenge for Boll's latest film, BloodRayne, a vampire flick starring Ben Kingsley.

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Creator of hit show Singapore Haunted. Spurs fan, experienced astronomer and occasional ITK. I.Z. Reloaded covers news, pop culture, blogs, websites, gadgets, the fascinating and the weird from a Singapore perspective. The blog is a runner up in both the 2006 Weblog Awards (Best Asia Blog) and the 2004 Asia Blog Awards (Best Singapore Blog). Contact him at izreloaded[at]gmail[dot]com.